Canadarm2, the iconic robotic arm on the International Space Station (ISS), will undergo wrist surgery during a spacewalk on Tuesday, July 2, 2026. The arm, officially known as the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), was launched in 2001 with a 15-year design lifespan and is now operating well beyond that.
Spacewalk Details and Crew
NASA flight engineers Chris Williams and Jessica Meir will don spacesuits for the 6.5-hour spacewalk, which is scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. ET. This will be Williams' second spacewalk and Meir's fifth, according to NASA spacewalk flight director Fiona Antkowiak. The spacewalk will be the 280th in the station's history.
Canadian astronaut Jenni Gibbons will serve as the capsule communicator (CAPCOM), the voice of Earth, during the spacewalk. Gibbons, born in Calgary, was announced in November 2023 as the backup crew member for Canadian Jeremy Hansen on the Artemis II mission, which took place earlier this year.
Aging Gracefully: Signs of Wear
Jason Dyer, Houston-based deputy liaison manager with the Canadian Space Agency, said at a NASA briefing on Thursday that the arm is "ageing gracefully and showing signs of wear." He noted that this was anticipated in the original design, which allowed for replacement of joints and end effectors. The arm previously underwent a "double hand transplant" in 2017 and 2018.
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who helped install Canadarm2 on the ISS in 2001 alongside NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski, recently compared the arm to "an aging tennis player" on social media. The installation is commemorated on Canada's five-dollar bill.
Repair and Future Plans
The balky wrist joint weighs about 90 kilograms, while the Latching End Effector (LEE) cluster that will be temporarily detached weighs more than 400 kilograms. Dyer stated that the Canadian Space Agency and its partner MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates designed the components to be replaceable. A spare joint is already on board the ISS, and another is being processed for launch on the ground. The removed joint will be returned to Earth for analysis and repair before being sent back to the station.
Bill Spetch, the station's operations and integration manager, emphasized that Canadarm2 remains critical to ISS operations until the station's planned de-orbit around 2030. Antkowiak expressed confidence in the repair, saying, "We’re looking forward to returning a fully functional arm at the end of the spacewalk."
NASA will provide live coverage of the spacewalk on its YouTube channel starting at 6 a.m. ET Tuesday.
